Free Republic

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Jul 22, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, owner of Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem, a nephew of King Fahd and chairman of a Saudi publishing empire, died Monday of a heart attack at a hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. He was 44. Associates of Prince Ahmed in Saudi Arabia and London mourned him as a popular figure and an unpretentious prince. "On a personal level he was the kindest person I've ever seen - he was a prince without the airs," said Khalid Al-Maeena, editor in chief of...

Third Saudi prince found dead A third Saudi prince has died in less than a week. Prince Fahd has been found dead in the desert, after apparently dying of thirst. No further details have been given. Last week, a 41-year-old prince died in a car accident as he drove to the funeral of his cousin. The cousin, another member of the Saudi royal family, had died the day before of a heart attack.

Despite initial steps in response to U.S. requests, Saudi Arabia continues to tolerate the transfer of finances to al-Qaida insurgents. U.S. intelligence sources said Saudi princes are believed to be funding the flight of al-Qaida agents from Afghanistan to the Persian Gulf and Middle East. They said the princes have paid millions of dollars for the escape of hundreds of al-Qaida and Taliban members from Afghanistan through Iran and to the Persian Gulf. Many of those who fled Afghanistan, the sources said, are Saudis or those who had been sponsored by the House of Saud. The al-Qaida agents, the sources...